The Berlin Wall-Why did it come up Why did it go down - Research Paper Example

During the pre-war period, Eastern bloc’s authoritarian systems and erosion of political powers in pro-Soviet governments led to circumventing and defection of 3.5 million East Germans into the West where they could travel to other areas and neighboring countries. As a result, to strengthen the Eastern bloc emigration and defection restrictions; where legal migrations was in most cases meant to reunite families or when members of the minority groups were to return to their homelands (Mur, p.7), led to the construction of the Berlin Wall.

The wall was intended to restrict movement which together with the Inner German Border, which was more separate and longer, help in implementing the emigration policy between the Eastern Block and West Europe. Reasons for Construction After the World War II, Germany was divided in to four occupation zones which were based on different social and economic ideologies from four allied powers such as United States France, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union; whose ideological differences led to further political divisions in the economy.

For instance, the Soviet Union expected to undermine the British position within their occupation zones with an aim of directly influencing the United States to withdraw from their positions to a point that nothing would stand along their communist rule. This would later be followed by establishment of Marxism-Leninism system with the major communism party required to channel down Soviet orders down the administrative apparatus; leading to nationalization of property and industries in East Germany Zone, and this led to internal wrangles within the zone and those of the allied powers (Major, p.2). This led to massive emigration of people from East Germany to the west; with creation of an elaborate police force and administration that was to oversee indoctrination of Marxism systems which were introduced in the school curricula and close surveillance of the implementation.

In case of violation of the stated communism lines, punishments such as imprisonments, torture and death would apply and reprimands for the persons outside the public attention; which instigated the need to control movement of the people out of East Germany, and to protect the interests of the new communism establishment (Maltz, p.7), the wall had to be created. This was also influenced by the 1950’s Soviet approach of controlling the emigration and national movements; which presented a quandary for some Eastern blocs that were more economically advanced and those that were liberalized, which led to many citizens escaping the East for the West.

By 1961, German Democratic Republic wanted to de-Nazify their occupation zone and to promote socialism system as means of public policy and development, which could only be achieved by restricting movement of people with different ideologies in to the zone and thus the construction. In addition, emigrants seemed young and well educated and the East Germany officials feared “brain drain”; leaving for political reasons of communism at the expense of economic expectations by the East Germany would ruin their socialism agenda thus they needed to be controlled.

Contraventions by the Soviet Union in and other allied powers in a bid to take full control of East Germany such as the closure of the Inner German Border and